Braiding machine



July 2, 1935- H. A. ELLIOTT BRAIDING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1931 2Sheets-Sheet l %JVENTOR Vfoward flEZZZOZZ.

ATTORNEYS.

July 2, 1935. H. A. ELLIOTT 2,006,826

BRAIDING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR HowardH Elliott.

W1 A '2 ATTORNEYS.

Patented July 2, 1935 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BRAIDING .Howard A.Elliott, Highland Park, Mich., assignor to Essex Wire Corporation,a'corporation of Michigan Application June 22, 1931, Serial No. 545,896

7 Claims. (Cl. 96-3) My invention relates to improvements in braidleadsare to be formed which apparatus is readily ing mechanism and moreparticularly to mechaadjustable. nism for braiding determinate lengthsof material. A Sti u er j e f y invention is to P In covering variouskinds of wires, insulated v de an mp ov d m a s of introducing the Com'5 conductors and cords, it is a well known practice ductors to becovered to the braiding mechanism.

to braid a covering of textile material tightly Further obje s ndadvantages wil becom about the wires by the use of machines especiallyppa e t throughout a di of e following designed for that purpose andwell known in the ail d descrip i n nd pany r w n art as textilebraiders. One common type is in Wh hn what is known as the Wardwellbraider in which Figure 1 is a fr me ary p r p tiv view of textilesupplies are braided at a relatively high a braiding machine p at n t prate of speed about the wire strand or conductor ments of my invention.to be covered. In certain wiring arrangements it i 2 is an enlarged Pe pc View Of the is often desirable to cover two or more insulated improv didin ri of my nven ion.

35 wires with a protective covering toform a cable Fig. 3 is anelevation of a cable formed by the of certain and determined length,that is, make method and on the apparatus of my invention. it up inpieces for use, for example, in hooking Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailedside view of the up various electrical and ignition systems in autom a uin nd n i t d vi e f y nv n ionmotive vehicles. These coverings shouldbe of F g. 5 is an enlarged front elevation of the the same length andshould have certain chardevice illustrated in Fig. 4. 20 acterlsticssuch as leaving uncovered the end por- 6 i an a d vation of a modifiedtions of the wires and, in many instances, allowform f Cable, and ingone or more of the wires to protrude from 7 s an n e detai ed View of achain a portion of the covering intermediate the ends a d h k rin d vicmpl yed in the app 'thereof to form side leads. In the ordinary formsratus of my invention. 25 of braiding mechanism no provision is made forReferring w to the drawings in de a l, n incorporating additionalconductors, nor for pre- Which like numerelS designate i e pa tsdetermining desired lengths of the assembly of throughout the SeveralViews, I have Shown in conductors, nor for taking out side leads fromthe 1 a textile a d machine I o a y We l an bl known design, such, forexample, as those well An object of my invention is to provide animknown in the art as Wardwell braiders. This proved method for braidingdeterminate lengths machine has two tiers of yarn upp ts II or oftextile coverings about a plurality of conduc- Supply oops, each driVellin an pp e di ection tors for forming cables. to the other by a pulleydriven shaft l2 connected 5 th object of my'jnvention is t provide withsome suitable source of power (not shown). improved means fordetermining t length of These yarn carriers have lenticular shaped deckscovering t be b i on a plurality of wires t I3 resembling shuttles whichweave or braid the form t i lengths of l line of yarn under and overalternate adjacent Another object of my invention'is to provide lines asthe 13W0 tiers of p y p are r tated 40 visible means for indicating whena predeter inoppQsite directionsmined length f Cable has been braidedThe lines of yarn are all drawn to a center Yet another object is toprovide an adjustable P l pomt and eng age pass over brald" indicatorfor measuring the desired amount of L ifi m fi hi e g braiding which maybe readily reset to facilitate i gf fi 11 2 1 5 P a i 522% 45 thePraldmg of 919985 of vanolls g arm i8 is secured in the base I 6 andextends veranother ObJect of my l lq Is to P tically upward therefrom tosupport the ring i5 vlde improved means for maintaining a nxed at itsupper and The ring 5 is f smooth and braiding point and facilitatingmanipulation of rounded external contour to facilitate passage 50, theWire below the braiding pointof the braided yarns as they are drawn overits 60 A furth bj c of my invention is to p v outer surface asillustrated in Fig. 1. The base an improved method of leading conductorsout- I6 is secured to the central housing of the braidu'ardly throughthe side of thebraided covering. ing machine In by bolts is or othersuitable fas- A further object is to provide apparatus for inteningdevices. This braiding ring differs from dicating the point at which theintermediate side other devices previously employed to maintain 5 atorhas ready access to the wires being braided for a space considerablybelow the braiding point.

This facilitates manipulation and treatment of the ends of the wireswhen forming cables of determinate lengths and forming side leads aswill hereinafter be described in detail.

The measuring and indicating mechanism of my invention is applied to thebraiding machine and driven through a suitable chain of gears and powertransmission devices, by the same source of power that drives thebraider, as best shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

A horizontally disposed drive shaft 2| is rotatably journaled insuitable bearings formed in the upper portions of supporting arms 22 and23 of the frame of the braiding machine H]. A sprocket gear 24 is fixedat one end of the shaft 2| and is driven by a chain 25-which isoperatively connected with the drive shaft i2 of the braider by a systemof gearing and is driven thereby. The shaft 2| is therefore rotated at afixed rate relative to the rotation of the braider I0. Suitablereduction gearing may be employed to obtain the desired speed ofrotation'of the shaft 2| in proportion to the rate at which the braiderrotates. It will'be very much slower than that of the braiderordinarily. A gear 28 is carried by a shaft 29 which is rotatablyjournaled in a suitable manner in a bearing block 38 attached to theupper end of the main support arm 23. A measuring drum or take up reel3| is fastened to the gear 28 by bolts 32 or othersuitable fasteningdevices and rotates therewith. The gear 28 is in mesh with a pinion gear34 fixed on the shaft 2| and driven thereby. The ratio of these gears issuch that the measuring drum 3| will rotate considerably slower than theshaft 2|.

The measuring drum 3| is preferably made of light metal and the surfaceis slotted axially to provide a plurality of evenly spaced prongs 35with slots 36 intervening between each of the prongs. These prongs areslightly tapered towards the open end of the drum to facilitate removalof the braided pieces of cable as will hereinafter be described.

An indicator 38 is provided to designate the points at which certainoperations are to be performed on the wires and braid in making up thewiring assembly. This indicator includes a flat metal frame 39 the upperpart ofwhich is vertically disposed and the lower part of which isarcuately shaped to conform to the shape of the drum 3|. The frame 39 ismounted in position at its lower end by a bracket 40 which is secured tothe frame member 23 and at its up- .per end by a bracket 4| which isfastened to the'bearing block 30 by suitable jfastening devices. Anelongated central slot 43 extends throughout. the length of the frame 39intermediate its edges as best shown in Fig. 5. I a

A horizontally disposed pointer 44 extends over the drum 3| and isadjustably mounted on the frame 39 for vertical. movements by a suitablethumb screw and lug fastening device 45 which passes through the slot43. Such fastening devices are well known and are of the type which whenloosened will allow the pointer 44 to be slid upwardly and downwardly onthe frame 39 so that it may thus be set in any desired position bytightening of the thumb screw. The pointer 44, it will be noted, extendsparallel to the prongs and slots of the drum 3|. A second pointer 41 isadjustably mounted in the slot 43 of the frame 39 above the bracket 4|by a fastening device 48, similar to the fastening device 45 justdescribed. The pointer 41 has a downwardly depending and rearwardlyextending point 49 and may be set in any desired position by atightening of the fastener.

A metal bracket 5| is mounted on the gear box 39 and extends over thedrum at the upper and rearward side thereof and is set relatively closeto the drum to act as a guide for the rows of cable being wound on thedrum and as a safety guard to prevent the cable from being started tooclose to the gear 28 or from being wound in that direction. The member5| also acts as an indicator of the rows being wound on the drum.

A feed pipe 53 is provided at the underside of the braider to facilitatethe proper introduction of the material being braided into-the machine.Side pipes or tubes 54 and 55 are provided at each side of the pipe 53to accommodate various pluralities of wires being braided. The centralfeed A chain 51 having a hook 58 at its upper endand a hook 59 at itslower end is provided. The upper hook 58 is adapted to engage the prongs35 of the drum 3| and the lower hook 59 is pointed to engage the textilebraid.

My invention is particularly useful in making up wiring assemblies whichmust be of a predetermined relatively short length, for example, of 2,4, 6, 8 feet or other determinate lengths, and having the ends of thewire extending beyond the braided covering at each end, also in formingside leads from one or more of the wires. Such a wiring assembly as maybe readily formed by my improved apparatus is shown in Figs. 3 and 6. K

To form the cable shown in Fig. 3 the operator proceeds as follows: Apair of insulated wires 60 and GI are drawn from reels 62 and 63respectively which are rotatably mounted in some suitable manner inframes behind the braiding machine ID. The wire 69 is fed through theside tube 54 and the wire 8| through the side tube 55 and passedupwardly through the braiding machine, or through the aperture H in thebase I6 of the braiding ring |5 then upwardly through the center of thebraiding ring IS. The braiding machine is threaded and the hook 59 ofthe chain 51 engages the braid which is formed in a loop 66 tofacilitate engagement of the-hook 59 of the chain. The upper hook 58 ofthe chain is engaged with a prong 35 preferably in alignment' with theindicator 44 or at some other predetermined point. The operator alsotakes care to engage the hook 58 in alignment with the point 49 ofthe'indicator ,41. The upper ends a take up reel and revolve in thedirection indi-gcated by the arrow in Fig. 4, winding the chain andassociated cable which is being formed about the surface of the drum 3|.The member 5| acts as a guide to prevent winding of the rows 01 cableupon the drum toward the gear or beyond a predetermined point. Theoperator then watches the rows of cable with respect to the pointer 49which are being wound upon the drum and when a certain number of rowshave been wound, which amount is determined by the length of wiringassembly desired, one of the wires may be looped and extended outwardlyfrom the assembly to form a side lead. To accomplish this result themachine is stopped as the chain arrives at a point opposite theindicator 4 and the wire H may be pulled up the required distancethrough the tube 55 to form the side leads and the braiding machine maythen be restarted to continue to braid the covering upon the assembly,the operator holding the side lead 6| out horizontally for a moment asit passes the braiding point and the cover will be braided at 10 aroundthe side lead 6|.

It will be noted that this operation is facilitated by the employment ofthe braiding ring it of my invention. Since the braiding point will bemaintained at a point slightly above the braiding ring IS the wires BI!and BI which are passing through the opening I! in the base of thebraiding ring and the braiding ring itself will-be exposed andaccessible below the ring I5 and either one may be pulled outwardlybetween the yarns of the braiding machine and held there until thispoint has been braided around. The wires 6| may then be cut to formshort leads as those illustrated in Fig. 3 or finished in any otherdesired manner. This cutting may be done by the operator as the braidingmachine continues to braid the covering on the lower part of theassembly. When the side leads 6| reach the drum the operator may twistthem around one of the prongs 35 by inserting them into one of thegrooves 36 therebetween, as illustrated in Fig. 5. The braidingoperation then continues under the observation of the operator until arequired number of additional rows have been wound about the take upreel II as indicated by the side lead wires 8| having been rotated, to apoint opposite the pointer 44, as illustrated by the dotted lines inFig. 5. The machine may then be stopped and the operator may cut thewires and 6| below the braiding point and braiding ring I5 the requireddistance that it is desired for them to protrude. The wires.arethen'held outwardly by the operator and the machine restarted and run ashort distance beyond this point which is the bottom of the braid. Sincethe wires 60 and ii will be held outwardly from the braiding point theyarn will be twisted about itself and the machine will braid a tailpiece which will preserve the braiding point. The finished cable maythen be removed from the take up reel 3| by sliding it outwardly fromits tapered end and a second chain 51 may be hooked upon the prong II ofthe take up reel 3| by means of its hooked end 58. The braided tailpiece is then bent around the lower hook 5! of the chain 51 to form aloop "illustrated in Figs. 3 and 6 and the ends of the wires and ilmoved upwardly the required distance above the braiding point and thebraiding operation resumed to form another braided cable in mannersimilar to that described.

It is readily apparent that the pointers l4 and 4! may b adjusted toindicate any desired length of assembly and any desired spacing of theside leads intermediate the ends of the assembly.

The operator may rely upon the upper or lower ends of the chain or thepoint of taking outside leads as desired to count the revolutions uponthe take up reel which are necessary to be made before the requiredlength of assembly has been formed. It is alsoapparent that any desiredcombination of lengths or relative indications may be made by so theindicator. The indicator 49 for example might indicate the point atwhich the machine was to be stopped for the completion of the assemblywhile the indicator 44 might be employed to indicate the point at whichthe'machine is to be stopped to take out the side leads. For example, itmight be found that one and one-half turns would bring the upper end ofthe braid or the point at which the hook 59 engages the loop 66 directlyopposite the indicator 44 which will be the point at which the side leadis to be made, or it may require one and three quarters revolutions ortwo whole revolutions. The adjustable indicators of my invention may bereadily adapted to any changes of lengths and combinations.

An amembly such as illustrated in Fig. 6 may be braided in a similarmanner as that described by passing the braided center portion 12through the large center pipe or tube 53 and the side wires 60 and GIthrough the side tubes 54 and 55 respectively.

The employment of the improvements of my invention in braiding cables ofdeterminate lengths results in speed of operation, uniformity of result,and easeand economy in the manufacture of such cable.

Formal changes may be made in the specific embodiment of the inventiondescribed without departingirom the spirit and substance of the broadinvention, the scope of which is commensurate with the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A method of covering wires to form determinate lengths of cableshaving the wires protruding beyond the cover at each end, and formingside leads intermediate the ends of said cover which consists in passinga plurality of wires through a textile braiding machine having a fixedbraiding point, extending the ends of said wires upwardly above saidbraiding point, then braidinga predetermined length of covering uponsaid wires downwardly from this point, drawing out one of the wires andholding it to one side of the braiding point to form a side lead,rimming the machine to braid a further cover upon said wires past saidside lead for an additional predetermined distance, cutting oiI thewires below said braiding point, bending said wires outwardly away fromsaid braiding point to prevent further covering, running the machine tobraid a short tail between the wires beyond the point at which the wiresare bent and cutting oil the braided tail at the point where the wiresare bent.

2. In a device to assistin determining the length of braids formed by apower driven braiding machine, a rotatable drum, a braid wound ingmachine, a rotatable drum driven by said machine at a. rate fixeddefinitely proportionate to the speed of operation of said machine, abraid attached to said drum and adapted to be wound thereabout, astationary indicator frame positioned in front of said drum and visibleindicatorsion said frame extending over the surface of said drum tofacilitate the counting of the revolutions of said drum.

4. A device for assisting in determining the length of braid formed by apower driven braiding machine, a rotatable drum positively driven bysaid machine and adapted to wind the braid in rows above the peripheryof the drum, a stationary indicator frame positioned adjacent said drumand provided with a circumferentially directed member, an arm slidablysecured to said member for adjustment circumferentially of the drum, anda second member provided with an arm slidably secured thereto foradjustment tangentially of said drum.

5. A device for assisting and determining the length of braid formed bya power driven braiding machine, a rotatable drum positively driven bysaid machine and adapted to wind the braid in rows about the peripheryof the drum, 2. stationary indicator frame positioned adjacent saiddrum, 2. member extending circumferentially about said drum and providedwith an arm slidably secured thereto for adjustment circumferentially ofthe drum, a second member provided with an arm slidably secured theretofor adjustment tangentially of said drum, and a stationary guard memberprovided on said machine and extending over the surface of the drum inclose proximity thereto to prevent winding of the rows beyond apredetermined point.

'6. In a device for assisting in determining the length of braid formedwith a power driven braiding machine, a rotatable drum positively drivenby said machine and adapted to wind the braid in rows about theperiphery of the drum, a stationary indicator frame positioned adjacentsaid drum, a circumferentially directed member provided with an armslidably secured thereto for adjustment circumferentially of the drum, asecond memberprovided with an arm adjustable tangentially of said drum,a stationary guard member mounted on said machine and extending over thesurface of the drum in close proximity thereto to prevent, winding ofthe rows beyond a predetermined point, and an attaching device adaptedto connect the braid to the drum so as to wind said braid thereon.

- 7. The method of covering wires to form a length of cable having wiresprojecting through the cover intermediate the ends thereof to form sidevleads, which method comprises passing a plurality of wires through atextile braiding machine having a fixed braiding point and braiding alength of cover upon all of said wires, drawing out and holding to oneside of said braiding point a loop including certain but not all of saidwires, braiding a further length of cover upon all of said wires, andcutting said loopto provide side leads.

HOWARD A. ELLIOTT.

